Murphys Brewery is to establish 20 new Irish pubs in cities around Europe next year, the company has announced. The pubs will be set up under the multi-million pound "Murphys Pubs of Ireland" programme to establish outlets in every major city in Europe.

To date, 20 Murphys outlets, trading as "JJ Murphy and Co", have been established in countries including Britain, Belgium, France and Italy. There are plans to open pubs in Bahrain, Japan and the United States.

To support the Pubs of Ireland programme, Murphys is to establish an international marketing department in the headquarters of Heineken in Amsterdam, and Mr David Forde has been appointed international marketing manager.

According the company, sales of Murphys in Europe are growing at over 80 per cent a year and up to 160 per cent in the USA.